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Another Québec format sold abroad - Italy and Australia buy Vol 920

MONTRÉAL, Feb. 23, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebecor Content today announced that Vol 920 has been sold in Italy and Australia. The deals follow the sale of Mensonges in France and Germany, and of the Un sur Deux format in Poland, confirming the appetite for Québec television titles in international markets.

Italy: Magnolia TV buys the formatItalian production company Magnolia TV has acquired the Vol 920 format and will produce its own version of the program. The Italian series will air on Italia Uno in prime time on Friday nights, starting in the first week of April. The search for contestants began in December and taping of the 90-minute episodes began on February 8.

Magnolia TV, Italy's leading production company, is a subsidiary of Banijay-Zodiak, formed through the recent merger of the two groups and now the third largest audiovisual production company in the world. Magnolia specializes in entertainment, drama and children's programs, as well as adventure games. It has extensive experience with adapting successful formats – including Masterchef – and also has a strong social media presence.

Dedicated to young adults viewers, Italian Uno is owned by the Mediaset group, Italy's largest commercial broadcaster. Italia Uno is known for popular programming with a focus on sports and music, offering innovative, original, often irreverent shows and formats.

Australia: SBS to broadcast the Québec versionIn Australia, the SBS production company will present the Québec version of season 1 of Vol 920 on the SBS2 channel. The program will air with English subtitles on Mondays and Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., from March 21 to May 30.

The Vol 920 format was developed by Jean-Martin Bisson and is owned by Productions J. "We are very proud to see a great format like Vol 920 break out internationally and we are confident that Magnolia will be able to make Vol 920 a hit in Italy," commented Jean-Martin Bisson, now Vice-President, Creation & Development, of Productions Déferlantes.

"We are very pleased to be able to bring another Québec production to the international scene," said France Lauzière, Senior Vice-President, Content, Quebecor Content. "It is a testament to the immense talent of our creators and artists, who can compete with the best in the world." The Italian and Australian deals were made by the Israeli company Armoza Formats on behalf of TVA Distribution, the international distributor of the format and the series.

About Quebecor ContentQuebecor Content, a wholly owned business unit of Quebecor Media, creates, develops, acquires, distributes and exports distinctive, high-quality audio-visual content, providing consumers with a multi-platform experience via the services of Videotron and TVA Group, and promoting Quebec artists at home and abroad.